The very best from the world of smooth jazz and classic soul.

April 01, 2015

James Lloyd - Here We Go

Keyboard maestro James Lloyd has been the heart, body and soul of Pieces Of A Dream since its inception almost forty years ago. Now he is breaking new ground with the album ‘Here We Go’ that was released March 17 on the enduringly excellent Shanachie label. By age sixteen Lloyd had worked with Joe Williams and Count Basie while less than a year later he was touring and recording with Grover Washington Jr. The rest, as they say, is history and he continues to demonstrate the sublime touch he retains for contemporary jazz that is sometimes smooth but always edgy.

The wonderfully foot stomping title cut is, in both name and mood, the ideal number with which to launch this, his solo debut CD yet it is a mark of the man that an A-Lister such as Lloyd should consider inviting not one but two guest performers to the project.

The first to step up is every sax-player’s saxophonist, Najee, who adds his magic to the deliciously mid tempo ‘Moving Right Along’. It is an absolute shoo in for my top twenty smooth jazz tracks of the year and later the invariably superb Gerald Albright teams with Lloyd for the big, ballsy and totally infectious ‘No Holds Barred’. In fact James first met Gerald when Pieces Of A Dream were opening for Anita Baker and Albright was in her backing band. Here, years later, they are at the very top of their respective games.

Lloyd takes a jazzy turn with the tongue in cheek ‘Y-Town, Y-Not?’ that celebrates the city of Youngstown Ohio, the place where he and his wife now call home. The Youngstown connection continues all the way to the outrageously ‘in the pocket’ ‘Within Reach’ that was co-written by local musician Marcellus Hayes while elsewhere the full-on happy vibe of ‘Play It Forward’ proves to be an unadulterated delight.

Lloyd eases down the tempo and finds a killer groove with the spine tingling ‘Granted Wish’. Written for his wife and almost ten years in the making it is a tune with which Lloyd strikes pure gold and he keeps the mood relaxed for ‘Almost There’ that was composed by former Pieces Of A Dream keyboard player Cherie Mitchell. Later, as he pays his respects to the undisputed ‘Queen Of Hip Hop Soul’, the wonderful Mary J. Blige’, he conjures up a bluesy, swinging, R & B treat in a way that only he can.

Talking of paying his respects, Lloyd brings down the curtain on ‘Here We Go’ with the funk drenched ‘For The Duke In Me’ which tips a hat to the late great George Duke. It is a fitting end to a stupendous collection that even at this early stage must be regarded as being up there with the best of 2015.